Book Review: A Thousand Pieces Of You (Firebird #1) by Claudia Gray

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray. Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined. A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

First, I would like to mention that I think the book cover for, A Thousand Pieces Of You, by Claudia Gray, is absolutely gorgeous. It is what initially drew me to the book. However, I am happy to say that the cover matches the breathtaking story within its pages perfectly. A Thousand Pieces of You is a story that let's your imagination take flight. It is a brilliant reading escape. It is also a story that makes you contemplate chance versus fate, and the infinite possibilities in the realm of a person's life. A Thousand Pieces of You is the story of Marguerite Caine. Both of her parents are scientific genuis' in the realm of Physics. They developed a device, called the Firebird, which allows a person's consciousness to jump from dimension to dimension, and inhabit the body of themselves in that new dimension. Marguerite is devastated and enraged when she hears that one of her father's trusted research assistants, Paul Markov, murdered him, and stole the Firebird Device. Theo, her father's other research assistant, let's Marguerite know that he kept two older prototypes of the device that he had supposedly destroyed. Marguerite and Theo decide to partner up and go in search of Paul, as they travel from dimension to dimension. However, once Marguerite locates Paul he claims innocence. Is Paul guilty of murder? Or, is someone trying to frame him? A Thousand Pieces of You, was a whirlwind of adventure, suspense, mystery, danger, and romance. It was extremely addictive. I loved the main characters, and enjoyed trying to figure out who the villains were, and who the good guys were. Marguerite, Theo, and Paul were extremely well-developed and three dimensional characters. While there was a bit of an attraction between Marguerite and Theo, Paul, is the character that I fell madly in love with. I loved how Ms. Gray referred to fate, and I loved the idea that in every dimension the people that truly loved each other were linked.
Traveling to the various dimensions was one of my favorite aspects of the story. We get to enjoy the brilliant imagination of Ms. Gray as we travel to a variety of places, including a London society more technologically advanced then ours, St. Petersburg reminiscent of the 19th century, where Marguerite is a part of Romonav Royalty, and a society that lives under the ocean. Ms. Gray's descriptions were rich, vivid, and the imagery that she painted inside of my head made me feel like I was traveling right beside Marguerite to these various dimensions. A Thousand Pieces Of You is a book that makes you think. As Marguerite traveled from dimension to dimension her life changed in certain ways, while at the root of everything she was a very similar person. I liked seeing all of the changes, and it made me contemplate how big decisions have a certain effect, and if I had made different decisions in my life, how might my life be different than it is today.

My Rating:

I give, A Thousand Pieces of You, by Claudia Gray, 4.5 Brilliant, Rich, Imaginative, Adventurous, and Romantic Stars! This was a great Young Adult Science Fiction Romance that I highly recommend. I cannot wait to read the second installment in this series, Ten Thousand Skies Above You!!!

My Favorite Quotes:

"Now I know grief is a whetstone. It sharpens all your love, all your happiest memories, into blades that tear you apart from within. Something has been torn out from inside me that will never be filled up, not ever, no matter how long I live. They say "time heals," but even now, less than a week after my father's death, I know that's a lie. What people really mean is that eventually you'll get used to the pain. You'll forget who you were without it; you'll forget what you looked like without your scars." (Kindle Loc. 1753)

~Marguerite "I would love you in any shape, in any world, with any past. Never doubt that." (Kindle Loc. 2496) ~Paul

Claudia Gray is a pseudonym. I would like to say that I chose another name so that no one would ever learn the links between my shadowy, dramatic past and the explosive secrets revealed through my characters. This would be a lie. In truth, I took a pseudonym simply because I thought it would be fun to choose my own name. (And it is.) I write novels full-time, absolutely love it, and hope to be able to do this forever. My home is in New Orleans, is more than 100 years old, and is painted purple. In my free time I read, travel, hike, cook and listen to music. You can keep up with my latest releases, thoughts on writing and various pop-culture musings via Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, GoodReads or (of course) my own home page. If you want to contact me, you can email me here, but your best bet is probably to Tweet me. I don’t do follows on Twitter, but I follow everyone back on Tumblr, Pinterest and GoodReads.

I've yet to read any Claudia Gray books, but this is one that intrigued me both by the cover and the science aspect. I'm glad to see you liked it as I've seen some other people leave not so flattering reviews. I'll definitely be picking it up as soon as I can get ahold of it! Great review!